Jim Grant: What Ben Graham Would Buy

Grant's brilliant...

 According the Bloomberg, Jim grant says:"Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) are among eight stocks that Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing and Warren Buffett’s mentor, would buy, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer said.Cooper Industries Inc. (NYSE:CBE), Nucor Corp. (NYSE:NUE), Cintas Corp. (NASDAQ:CTAS), Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE:ADM), Molex Inc. (NASDAQ:MOLX) and RadioShack Corp. (NYSE:RSK) also meet the seven criteria Graham presented in 1973 for stocks that a “defensive investors might buy with confidence,” according to the latest issue of Grant’s, which was released today.“That there are as many as eight is a notable fact,” the newsletter said.

“In March 2003, near what would prove to be the bottom of the post-Nasdaq washout, Grant’s could identify only two that met the grade.”Graham favored companies that have “adequate size;” current assets that exceed liabilities by two times; 10 straight years of profit; 20 years of uninterrupted dividends; 10 years of earnings growth exceeding 33 percent; a price-to-earnings ratio of less than 15; and a price-to-book ratio that’s less than 1.5, according to Grant’s, an investment newsletter founded by James Grant in 1983.“Security Analysis,” published in 1934, provided a road map for value investors including Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.(NYSE:BRK.A)An equal-weighted index of the eight companies Grant’s identified has surged 32 percent since Nov. 20, the day the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped to an 11-year low."Bloomberg article